Over a century has passed since George Santayana warned, “those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” This advisory bears evidence of truth in the new play “When Stars Align,” opening Saturday, Sept. 5 as a guest production at the Odyssey Theatre.
It spotlights a recurring lesson we seem to have missed, regarding our nations history of fighting for equal rights in America.
The playwright, Carole Eglash-Kosoff, has been heralded for capturing the essence of racial equality issues in historical fiction style (“The Human Spirit”). This new production is described as a total theatrical experience coming to the Santa Monica area. It is a drama, communicating throughout the narrative with instruments, singing, and choreography. It covers some of the sweeping events that formed our country during and after the Civil War, while introducing a poignant love story caught between eras in American history. The characters ring as true today as they did then.
While treating Santa Monica residents to her second production being staged on the Westside, Carole continues to write about the subjects she feels most passionate about. It might mean that next season will bring a stage adaptation of her newest novel, in process, “Sex, Drugs, and Fashion,” Hmm, historical fiction?
For now, the spotlight is on an award winning 14-member cast and the World Premiere staging of her novel “When Stars Align,” as she talks about the journey that made it all happen.
What spurred your successful, late in life, writing career?
Carole: Tragedy. After the death of my husband, brother, and mother within only one month, I reached out in hopes of reviving my own faith and benevolence. Volunteering to work with an international charity took me to South Africa and put me in touch with people who devoted their lives to supporting that country’s most disadvantaged, a population who had been neglected for nearly half of the century during Apartheid. The journey led me to discover the undeniable connection that we all have as people…the human spirit. I began writing short essays about what I was seeing in South Africa. This turned into my first book, “The Human Spirit,” which seemed to reignite an earlier love of history. My writing became a marriage of two interests.
How did the story for this play come about?
I was fascinated by the election of 1876; closest race in US History. Did you know that? When I realized that there was a decade of near equality after the Civil War, I wanted to tell that story. The lesson that we “almost” learned 150 years ago keeps challenging us.
So, you choose to set your stories against historical backdrops because of your interest in history. What significance do you think that this has for your audiences, or readers?
Entertainment, with a shot of enlightenment.
Knowledge is power, right?
I find injustice, because of skin color, to be appalling…it makes no sense to me and it’s exactly these types of conflicts that I like to explore.
Your work seems to focus on the humiliations and frustrations of racial injustice. Some of the darkest facts that you present seem to be lightened by the torch of love and compassion within your characters.
Is this wishful thinking, or do you believe humanity will someday conquer these issues?
No, I don’t believe that injustice will disappear in my lifetime although I’ve been heartened by the speed with which LGBT rights are growing…that’s what all of this eventually needs to become but, sadly, the more I travel throughout the world the
more I see increased divisiveness.
Will you talk about the co-creation process with your Director, John Henry Davis? Has it unfolded in the direction that you had anticipated, and how is it different from where you started before casting?
John is a talented Director who is able to see and communicate visual images while I see and communicate textual context. It’s been a very satisfying experience, and I think he’d agree that we have both grown from this shared venture. The cast is as strong and accomplished as any we could have hoped for, so every new talent they reveal makes the play so much richer and different in ways we could never have imagined before casting.
So many writers struggle with character development and getting their projects produced.
How do you keep such vitality and prolificacy in your work, and what advise would you give to young writers?
I’m hesitant to give advice, but what I have discovered to be imperative to my writing is that I need to feel a deep passion about my lead characters, and the subject that I’m writing about. Thaddeus and Amy, the leads in “When Stars Align,” have become like my surrogate children…then it was important for me to tell their story. I focus on
the things that I’m passionate about!
“When Stars Align” opens Saturday, Sept. 5 and runs through Oct. 4, 2015.
Performances are at 8 pm Fridays and Saturdays, 2 pm on Sundays with two Thursday performances at 8 pm on Sept. 24 and Oct. 1.
The Odyssey Theatre is located at 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. Tickets are $30 ($25 for Students and Seniors).
Reservations: 323.960.7738 or www.plays411.com.
